Valentine’s Day! These words evoke extreme emotions. Contrasting feelings of joy to feelings of grief. Hearts are everywhere – candy hearts of every color, hearts on cards and paper, priceless hearts of gemstones and broken hearts of loneliness.

As a counselor I have asked people, involved in a relationship, to give a metaphorical description of their heart as it relates to the relationship. I have heard descriptions of hearts “beating fast, bright red on the inside with a brick wall on the outside” OR “my heart is in a million pieces, dark and cold.” The descriptions are endless, often describing hurting, limp, damaged, unstable, weak hearts bearing scars of unmet expectations and broken trust.

LOVE YOU, BE MINE, REAL LOVE, SURE LOVE, HUG ME….are some of the words written on those candy hearts. They can be sweet reminders of sincere love or hollow echoes of a lost love. Our needy hearts are vulnerable to the actions of others if it not stabilized by an infusion of trustworthy love from our Holy Father.

God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. 1 John 4:17-18 (MSG)

God’s love is not hollow or wavering, it is solid and permanent. His love is the only reliable source that can heal our needy hearts. “Heart” is mentioned in the Bible over 500 times, depending on the version. Our heart condition is a primary focus of God’s message to us. “Heart” in the Hebrew language, the language of the Old Testament, includes in its meaning “the emotions, the reason and the will”*. It is the center of one’s being, the source of courage, an anchor of thoughts. It is the crucial component of our identity. (*Vine’s Expository Dictionary)

Self-identity, dependent on the imperfect love of the world, will be heartbreaking! However, self-identity focused on the true love of our Father it will be securely anchored, allowing growth and development into its full potential.

Let God’s love be the banner over your heart. “The Lord is my Banner” is the translation of the Hebrew Yahweh-Nissi. Yahweh-Nissi is a name of God in the Old Testament. Acknowledging that His love is the banner over your heart indicates that you are identifying with God as your conqueror and savior. Life’s journeys will be more secure if they are traveled under the secure banner of his love.

The hearts of Valentine’s Day can be a reminder of the source of secure love, the steadfast presence of God in our lives.

Share this:

But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!Ephesians 1:18 (The Message)

My vision had become gradually hazy with less and less clarity. Cataracts invaded my lens, an unwelcome aliment that caught me by surprise.To have these cataracts removed required an amazingly quick procedure lasting 5 to 6 minutes. The old lens was removed, under local anesthesia, and replaced with a uniquely measured lens, suited to my vision needs.

The results were startling. The clarity of vision was better than I had ever experienced in my life! The new clarity seemed to give me energy as my visual world became more easily assessable.

This visual transformation from a lens replacement is like the heart replacement gained when we take off our old self and replace it with our renewed spiritual self as a child of God. This presence of God within my soul gives me an intensity of energy that is like “nothing and no one else” can give me.

When I trust the divine reality of God’s presence within me, my heart gains a clarity and strength and I am then able to extend the same love and grace to others. Unfortunately, my fear based heart often keeps me out of focus with the reality of God’s love and Spirit that is implanted in my soul. This becomes an obstacle, hampering my new heart from controlling my perceptions and responses.

Last week, I spent almost 2 hours, online, attempting to complete airline reservations. A “glitch” in the system, created much stress for me and was wasting my time. I felt powerless and disrespected by the endless technical dead ends and human errors. Ever felt that way?

I began to push back with irritable words. The person helping me with the reservation had to ask me to “be patient”. Those words penetrated my heart.She was patient with me as she tried to help my reservations become a reality. I had slipped back on my old heart of hazy distorted perceptions. The presence of my patience would have indicated that I was “seeing” clearly, through the eyes of my new heart. I would have realized the technical glitches were not her fault and they were not about me.

There were 4 evidences that my heart vision was out of focus. All exist as reactions from my old heart wounds. They became obstacles to living with the clarity of God’s love.

1. Overloaded schedule – I have a habit of regularly cramming too many activities into my daily schedule, giving no margin to tolerate any delay. The busier I am the better I am, has been my belief. I believed that my value was defined by what I do. That was the old identity, my old habits. Habits are hard to break!

If I consistently embrace and live out my new identity in Christ I will have more margin in my day. I will be confident in my value as a daughter of an unconditionally loving God. Nothing I can do would make Him love me more!

This heart change removes the haze of fearful doing, giving clarity on how to respond to my circumstances, rather than letting circumstances define me.

2. Unrealistic expectations – I had an expectation that it should take only 30 minutes, tops, to make these reservation. I expected that the technology would be perfect and there would be a perfect backup if things did not go well. Truth is, technical difficulties are a normal reality and humans are imperfect. These glitches had nothing to do with me. I believed that if things go wrong, I am powerless. Correct beliefs are; I am only in control of myself. God will never leave me and He strengthens me. AND What people say or do is more about them and not me.

I can choose how I will respond to life. I want choose the fruit of the Spirit because God choose me as His daughter. Sometimes I can not do what I want to do and I do the very thing I do not want to do…Paul had a similar problem, read Romans 7.

3. Pride – I selfishly thought I deserved better treatment. Impatience is the “fruit” of pride. Pride is the flip side of the coin of fear. When I begin to fear I am not valued or in control, I respond with a critical, irritable attitude because the circumstances are “making” me feel the fear. Correct beliefs are: I can not be made to feel a certain way, I can choose how to feel and how to act. God’s love will drive out my fear as I trust in Him.

“As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on thing and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.” C. S. Lewis

4.Negativity – Our brains have a negative bias. That means if we mindlessly allow our brains to react without a filter, the thinking will be negative. My reaction to the 2 hour experience took a very negative tone. Negative thoughts were dominating my brain, causing stress and unkind reactions.

A brain controlled with the filtered mindset of joy is less stressed, creating a forgiving, patient interaction.

“To live life you need a center of joy. ” Tim Keller

To have a “center of joy” is to have a joy frame of reference. To delight in the Lord and trust his love and know you are His delight will produce a centering of joy. This fuels my ability to recognize the negative thinking, releasing its power and allowing my focus to be on the joy of living in His love. Seeing the world through the eyes of joy can produce the joy of humor. Humor in this situation would have defused the stress…Laughter is wonderful for the heart, body and soul!

God, the lover of our souls, has chosen to give us His Spirit. We must choose to trust His love and lay down our fear driven agendas and humbly receive His gift. His love is glorified in us when we chooseto receive His grace filled light. We are then free from the bondage of our shortsighted (hazy) fears and we receive a clarification of His love that is startling to our flesh. This clarification removes all obstacles to living a life growing in the fruit of the Spirit.

The Lord is God, Who has shown andgiven us light [He has illuminated us with grace, freedom, and joy]. Psalms 118:27a (AMPC)

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free… Galatians 5:1 (NLT)

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.Galatians 5:22-25 (NLT)

Please listen: The song Simple Pursuit brings to light the reality that “nothing and no one else” comes close to the perfect love of God!

Share this:

The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace. Psalms 29:11 (AMP)

Anxious with a hint of panic. Unexpected life situations popping up with next best step unknown. Moved with compassion and an urgency of my own, I listened to these voicemails overflowing with broken marriages, overwhelmed widows, anguished pastors, struggles with life transitions all expressed in the context of fear. For a moment I became overwhelmed myself with the same flood of fear consuming my voice mail.

They were calling me for answers!

I calmed, a quiet reminder activated in my awareness. I am just the instrument, God will provide the comfort and clarity needed to dissipate this tide of fear.

I have not and do not always stay so grounded in my faith. Fear is my default. Anxiety, abundant in my DNA. Insecurities driven by fears of being not good enough, alone and powerless often sabotage any clarity or wisdom I may have.

But my security is covered by the truth that I am more than enough through God’s provision (Philippians 4:19) , I am never alone as God will never stop loving me (Romans 8:39), and am empowered by the presence God’s Holy Spirit within me – I am one with Him as Jesus (John 17:11)

Why is it so hard to OWN the truths we as possess as His children? We know it in our head but struggle to believe it in our hearts and live like it is true. The truth is we are His and our DNA changes when we become His.

A recent Ted Talk by Shawn Achor, listed random acts of kindness, grateful thinking and meditation as activities that cause a rise of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine produces an increase in energy and creativity. Science uncovers a way to have stronger minds and energy.

Scripture alsoreveals the importance of the same actions of grateful thinking, meditation on God, acts of kindness leading us to a life of peace. (Colossians 3:12-17) God’s presence in our heart not only gives us peace but supplies us with a wonderful source of strength and energy as we change our focus.

15-19 That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength! Ephesians 1:15-19 (MSG)

So, how do we build our connection to God and strengthen our truth?

I have found it takes focused daily intention, to cultivate a healthy perspective from a soul connection to God. Connection with the Father opens us up to receive the blessing of His peace, equipping our minds to release the chaos and receive clarity with energy.

Reach Out –To maintain any relationship we must regularly schedule times to reach out and stay connected or the connection will fade. The same applies to our relationship with God. We must schedule times, regularly, to seek His presence, so we may begin to understand His love. This would include:

noticing and being mindful of nature in the moment…spending time getting to know Him in His creation.

Reflect-After spending time with God, continue to reflect and notice His presence in your day. Notice those random “coincidences” that remind you of the truths you experienced in your quiet time…I.E. The scripture you read may be woven into a song on the radio as you drive to work. A co-worker may express a concern that gets your attention connecting back to your quiet time. The list can go on…

It is important not to close the book or journal or close your mind and spirit. Keep your heart open through out the day, mindful of to the leading of God’s Spirit.

You will not see it if you do not look for it.

Receive-When we receive food, we taste it, experience and are nourished by it. To receive God’s truths for us we must experience, take it in, be consumed by an encounter with God. Allow the knowledge of truth to impact your DNA. As you change your perspective of yourself, it will change your perspective of others. It will change your thinking which will change the health of your physical brain.

Respond-Intentionality is the key factor in seek God as well as choosing to act out of your new security in Christ. As we choose compassion and curiosity over anger and personalization we will find a reinforcement of our peace and a decrease in those energy draining actions of stuffing feelings and hiding critical thoughts.

As the truth settles into the “core of your being” you will experience an enlightened strength and a powerful peace. Just “let it go down”

“Into the core of your being. And as you read, expect Him to commune with you.” When you read your Bible, receive and savor it like a love letter from God to you. Remember, you’re reading in order to meet Someone. Ponder what you have read, and apply it to your present circumstances. Let it go down ~Bruce Wilkinson

Building trust in God’s truths provides lives that overflow with hope(full)ness replacing the hopelessness of fear. I will strive to continue to grow and strengthen my security in His Truth. Reaching out, Reflecting, Receiving and Responding will give me a practice, a way to find security in God’s promise – He will help those who trust in him.

From long ago no one has ever heard of a God like you.No one has ever seen a God besides you,who helps the people who trust you. Isaiah 64:4 (NCV)

He is a Great God – please listen to this song by Plumb as she celebrates our great God.

Share this:

How can I be lonely in the midst of continuous contact? My heart feels strangely empty and unknown. I have a sense of purpose with a meaningful ministry. I have a husband who loves me and children who seek my connection. What is going on?

Loneliness is a common experience for many. Loneliness may be a physical reality, but all to often it is a mental disposition.

“The number of single-person households has increased from roughly seven to 25 percent of all households in the last 60 years. But as psychologists have discovered, humans are meant to live in groups, and they thrive through their social interactions.”

Loneliness can have a detrimental effect on one’s mental and physical health. It can activate poor coping choices, such as increased alcohol and food consumption and other addictive behaviors.

The lifestyle of business has become something to admire. We live over scheduled, hyper-networked and self-reliant lives, seeking to be filled by the connection of success and admiration from others. Turning to technology can seem like a clean substitute for connection. Yet, this only short circuits authenticity and has been proven to decrease empathy.

Shorter attention spans typically found in technology-savvy people negatively impact the mature development of the human qualities of empathy and compassion. (Karp, 208; Merzenich, 2008; Marziali, 2009 – printed in Family Therapy Magazine, aamft.org)

Our life style can create our loneliness. But, is it just life style that contributes to this sense of loneliness?A negative mindset toward self and others may be the strongest contributor of loneliness.

There are four common strategies for reducing loneliness. For the lonely, there is a need to improve social skills, increase exposure to social support and opportunities for social contact. Particularly the chronically ill and the aging population.

The number one most effective strategy was addressing the negative thoughts a person has about themselves and others around them. These negative thoughts are automatic, reactive, and not factual. A feeling is not a fact. As the negative reactive thoughts take over they will sabotage any other attempt to connect. It becomes a vicious cycle. Bingo! That is my problem.

I know I struggle with feeling alone, not good enough and unimportant. I have had those “default” thoughts about myself since childhood. The more I cater to those old feelings the more isolated I become.

To compound the effect of my automatic negative thoughts about myself (my ANTs)… I am naturally an introvert. Introverts are introspective thinkers, they are overwhelmed by too much social exchange. I can not change my temperament but, I can lessen the negative impact it has on my emotions if I take the time to be self aware and objectively understand my perspective.

As an introvert I am prone to excessive self talk (which is influenced by my ANTS) leaving me more prone to anxiety and depression. I then can begin to feel guilty and more inadequate for feeling anxious. What a mess!

My biggest challenge is to not feel like an outsider in my own world. Sometimes I would rather spend time processing thoughts than seeking connection. I am a great listener but by the end of the day I am drained, seeking solitude.

What hope do I have to change! Hope is precisely what I will need to change.

First, I must recognize those ANTs that plague my thinking. They have become my default setting and rise to the occasion when I become fatigued and lonely. They are my fears, not fact. They began in childhood from the eyes of a ecocentric child that took everything personal.

Second, I must reparent my inner child and exchange those eyes of fear with eyes of faith, exchanging feelings for fact. As God’s child I am valuable, wanted and lovable. My best friends also tell me that I am intelligent, loving and compassionate.

Whom do I believe?….the eyes of a child with limited vision or a loving God and tremendous friends. When a call is not returned, a social engagement is postponed or a friend never calls to check in- it does not mean that I am not good enough and unimportant. That is personalizing the action of others. The action of others speak more about them and their situation not who I am as a person. It may mean they think I am busy! Believing the truth based on the love of, the God of hope, creates a different perspective that perpetuates a better attitude for connection.

Hope in God is a confident expectation. Not wishful thinking. Scripture is full of over 3,000 verses referring to the promises of God that supplies our hope. To be hope(full) I must fill my thoughts with truth, not fears. God given hope gives a lovely reality that relieves the lonely feelings of unworthiness.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy peopleand his incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19 (NIV)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NIV)

Third, it is helpful to know your temperament. How did God create you? To understand your temperament is to understand your strengths and weaknesses. It really relieved my guilt and feelings of inadequacies when I realized how my temperament impacted my response to the world. I have linked a useful web site that makes a free Myers Briggs personality inventory available. Taking the time to understand your natural “bent” is helpful for you to understand your connections in relationships and life experiences.

Fouth, to spend time with the author of this unyielding, constant source of hope. God carries you through life, he is there regardless of your awareness of Him. Let your eyes see Him, look for Him, expect Him. Hope in Him heightens your awareness and brightens your reality giving a connection for eternity.

Share this:

The fireworks for freedom exploding in the sky, gave me pause to think of the spiritual freedom I have in Christ.(I Corinthians 1:30)

I now have freedom from what?

Life in the world can inflict wounds and create fears that can begin to define my identity and impact my reactions in life. Reactions that are selfish, protective and life degrading to others. (Galatians 5:19-21)I am free of those reactions when I turn and embrace my adoption as a child of God (Romans 8:15)I have a new identity, I am a new creation, reborn with a new nature. (Galatians 6:16)I am now wise to God’s love, made pure and right with God.

With a new mind I am now free to have a fruitful life overflowing with life giving responses, freely showing love and service to others. (Galatians 5:22-25)

Thank you Father that I can live free from the oppression of my fears and nature of sin that robs me of a life of joy. Now I can have the wisdom to act and experience the joy and peace of living life walking in Your love. ~ in Jesus name AMEN

Share this:

To see God’s direction, to recognize His open doors, we must have an attitude open to the Spirit (Rev 1:10),be pure of heart in our focus (Matt 5:8), have a priority of knowing Jesus above all else(Phil 3:8), so we can live and move having our being in Him. (Acts 17:28). More awareness of God requires a total dependence on Him, uniting us to His purpose.

The above, was my reflection, before worship. I expanded my reflection during communion as I read 1 Corinthians 10:15-17 in The Message:

I assume I’m addressing believers now who are mature. Draw your own conclusions: When we drink the cup of blessing, aren’t we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life, of Christ? And isn’t it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don’t we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ? Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness—Christ doesn’t become fragmented in us. Rather, we become unified in him. We don’t reduce Christ to what we are; he raises us to what he is.

“Our many-ness becomes one-ness, Christ raises us to what he is”! Not only are we united to His purpose but we are united with each other, as one body of Christ and and we are raise up and transformed from living in our flesh to “having our being” in His divine nature. Communion is a beautiful, powerful, focused reminder of the truth of God’s glory in us …redeeming our brokenness renewing our beauty.

~Father how blessed is Your Name, that you would open doors for us to receive Your glory! Forgive me when I become too focused and fearful of the lost darkness of this world. Strengthen me, instead, to be focused on the grounding truth of Your love that I may be Your light to this world. in Jesus name, AMEN

Share this:

And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. John 17:3 NLT

“Karen” rushes into my office, radiant, energetic and full of life. Just last week she was listless and weary. She is overflowing with excitement about the gift of a glorious grand piano that now sits in her home. The last few days had been spent living out her knowing of music as songs flowed from her head to her hands releasing her musical knowledge and gifting to the keys of a fine piano.

In her past life she had been an accomplished pianist who taught piano to many students. Her knowledge about music had given her a way to expand her talent and allow her to experience a real knowing of music anytime she had opportunity to play the piano. Years of being deprived of opportunity to play on a fine instrument did not dissipate her expert knowledge about music, it was securely anchored in her being. At a key board she had an awareness, a knowing of, how the music was to feel on the keyboard and be present with the listeners.

God must be known to be trusted. Knowing facts about God, from Scriptures, grounds us as we become more aware, experiencing a knowing of God’s presences in our personal lives.

“to know you, the only true God” in John 17:3 is the Greek word ginosko which means to be aware, perceive, to besure and to understand. Knowledge of God includes both an understanding of facts (knowing about) and an awareness of His presences (knowing of).

In reference to the importance of understanding objective facts about God, David Benner, in his book The Gift of Being Yourself, says

“These ground our more personal knowing, serving as an anchor in times of doubt and a frame of reference for making sense of our experience. This bedrock of beliefs will be elaborated by experience but never replaced by it. God’s intention is that we know Divine love by experiencing it. But even when our Divine Lover seems distant, we can hold confident to the hope of the steadfast nature of God’s love because of the testimony of Scriptures and the witness of others.”

Knowing about our God anchors our knowing of God. The #3 step of action toward building trust in God is understanding and knowing about our God.

3.Understanding the Character of God.

God’s “work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious, merciful and full of loving compassion” . Those are the words of Psalms 111:3-4. the Psalms are brimming with descriptions of the character of God. In Old Testament times, God was called by numerous Hebrew names, all depicting His identity. By studying these names mentioned in the Bible, we can develop a deeper knowing about who God is, and the dimensions of His personality and nature.

Listed below are some of the Names of God, followed by web sites dedicated to giving understand about these names:

Jesus was called Immanuel, the Hebrew word for “God is with us”. God came to us because God is Love (1 John 4:7-8) To know God is to know Jesus. Sincerely seek to know about Him and you will know of His presences in you life. (Hebrews 11:6)

Consistent reading of scripture, written devotionals, prayers, listening to worship songs and teachings from the family of God are ways of gathering information about Him. Writing, journaling, your own thoughts regarding the things you have heard and read can widen the door of understanding, allowing the Holy Spirit to help you discover the deeper dimensions of God’s truths.

Focusing intently on the character of God infuses truth into our awareness, transforming our minds. As our trust builds we will be able to perceive and sharpen our awareness of His presences in our lives.

Share this:

We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back. Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect. He suffered death on the cross. But he accepted the shame as if it were nothing because of the joy that God put before him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. Hebrews 12-1-2 (NCV)

He was harmless, this 77 year old homeless man named “Bill”. Without much warning, my husband had invited him to ride in the back of our car for the next two hours. I scrambled to gather all of my things that were scattered in the backseat. My anxiety, tension and anger rose as I was rearranging the items to fit under my feet.

“Bill” sat directly behind me as my husband engaged him in conversation. Before the 2 hours were up, “Bill” had fallen asleep and rested peacefully in the backseat while we played our favorite worship songs. My emotions shifted from a heightened painful, negative place to a softer, peaceful state of acceptance, AND REPENTANCE.

I became thankful we could provide a safe place of refuge for “Bill”, a soul in distress.

Consumed by my own thoughts and agenda, I had not fully noticed “Bill” and his sign I-40 West. If I had not been so consumed with fear of not being good enough for my current project, I would have noticed “Bill’s” gentle demeanor and understand that he was a man in need. The action of my husband (who noticed) abruptly inviting him into the car, triggered me into feeling out of control and minimized by him. He did not consider my feelings!

After a few miles my hurts subsided and I was able to confess my weaknesses to myself. (later to my husband) I went from a place of pain to a place of peace by intentionally removing the hinderance of my negative perception which lead to my “sin” of coping with anger and control. My coping response would have left “Bill” on the side of the road hungry and alone.

2. Revealing of your Hurts and Weaknesses

I was remorseful for my response and prayerfully let go of my pain to resume my “race” of living my life of faith in trusting a loving God. My emotions were a product of past wounds. I had processed these wounds in the past by revealing them to a faithful friend who helped me release them to my trustworthy Father in heaven. My wounds told me that I was not important and powerless. My Father tells me I am precious, safe in His economy and a competent woman. I choose to trust and live in mytrue identityas His child.

Heart hurts lead to destructive emotions that seek to be soothed by life destroying actions. These actions are often considered sin, a weakness in our character. Being aware and processing your hurts is an important step toward finding freedom of faith. Trusting God as you release those hurts and confessing your weakness will bring healing and strength.

Concealing instead of revealing our hurts and weakness will only encumber and entangle our progress in trusting God. (Hebrews 12:1) We must look away from the wounds of the past and focus on the healing love of God. Those wounds do not define us as a child of God.

Revealing leads to healing.

Concealing or ignoring our wounds will lead to the emotional struggles of anxiety and depression as well as chronic physical illnesses. Our human families, who we trusted to love us, can cause heart wounds from childhood. We often view their actions from the eyes of a child and carry those perceptions into our adulthood.

Replace childish thinking and hurt with a mature understanding of God’s truth (I Corinthians 13:11). Give the hurt to God, He is your Father, you are His child. Letting God heal can be a life long process.

Confess weakness to profess His strength.

Confession strips away the veil of pretense, releasing the power of humility. Reliance on God’s power and wisdom gives renewal to the soul.

The more flesh dynamics are painfully exposed, the more we abandon ourselves to the mercy and care of God. And the more we are disturbed by the presence and power of our flesh, the more we become excited and empowered by the deeper presence and greater power of the Spirit. Larry Crabb in Conversations spring 2007

David spoke of the burden of not confessing in Psalms 32:3-4 (NLT)

When I refused to confess my sin,my body wasted away,and I groaned all day long.Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.

Instead if we confess to God, trusting His love, we are released of our pain.

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. I John 1:9 (AMP)

Is it easier for you to conceal your hurt rather than reveal? If you can not reveal the hurt to others, just journaling, writing out hurts, has a tremendous benefit. Is the thought of confession of weakness awkward and uncomfortable? This action can be relieving, removing a weakness that impedes our life.

In next week’s post we will move on to action 3 we can take in the humble wholehearted pursuit of God, the U in TRUST, Understanding the Character of God.

Share this:

“When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree. Jeremiah 29:13 The Message

I recently spend a few days with my 5, 3 and 2 year old grandchildren and was impressed by two things; their quest for understanding of their world and a relaxed trust of the loving care given by family. Keeping an open heart and fresh eyes, when spending time with children, can bring to life the wonderment and trust of these vulnerable souls.

It occurred to me that I could learn from these innocent children how to trust God. Their vulnerability allowed them to have freedom to wonder, to have joy and security with their world.

Vulnerability is true strength.

Children seem to know they are on the holy ground. Perhaps they are closer to it–literally. Is it something about their smallness? About their inability, their need to trust for all they are given? Is that what makes them truly humble? (By which I mean, not that they think less of themselves, but think of themselves less.)

Children see rightly.

They have a right sized view of themselves in relation to the miraculous wonder-filled holy world in which we have been set down. Sally Lloyd-Jones author of The Jesus Storybook Bible

Children are consistently wholehearted with their interaction with world and reliance on their parents. The first requirement of learning to trust God is to be wholehearted in seeking a relationship with Him. To trust God is a process of intentional living. The second requirement is to seek with a humblevulnerability, setting aside your protective caution to be open to God’s presence.

Trusting God will give us freedom from fear; fear that results in actions of jealousy, anger, sadness, worry, control, perfection, addictions, and the list goes on. The choice of trusting our divine creator not only benefits us spiritually but it also impacts our overall physical and emotional wellness.

What actions must be taken to trust God, and find the freedom of faith? 5 actions of a humble wholehearted pursuit to trust God will include an openness to embrace;

Truths of God’s Love.

Revealing of your Hurts and Weaknesses

Understanding the Character of God.

Seeking the Presences of God.

Thankfulness in the Worship of God.

1. Truths of God’s Love.

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. Ephesians 3:17 NLT

The song Jesus Loves Me was a poem written, by Anna B. Warner in 1860, to comfort a dying child. It is based on Ephesians 3:17. My 2 year old granddaughter loves to sing this song and always emphasizes the word strong. That is a truth that I hope will be anchored in her young heart. This truth must be anchored in all souls for trust to be a reality.

Jesus loves me! This I know, For the Bible tells me so; Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong.

Jesus loves me! This I know, As He loved so long ago, Taking children on His knee, Saying, “Let them come to Me.”

Jesus loves me still today, Walking with me on my way, Wanting as a friend to give Light and love to all who live.

Jesus loves me! He who died Heaven’s gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me! He will stay Close beside me all the way;Thou hast bled and died for me, I will henceforth live for Thee.

Nothing compares to the love of God expressed through His son and empowered by His Spirit. The strong love of God becomes evident in our lives as we relinquish our control. Leaning our entire personality (heart, soul, mind and body) on the anchor of his love is like a drowning swimmer. The life guard can effectively save the swimmer if the swimmer gives up the fight to save himself and relinquishes control, trusting the rescuer.

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,I will not be disgraced.Therefore, I have set my face like a stone,determined to do his will.And I know that I will not be put to shame. Isaiah 50:7 NLT

There is a list of 93 identities of a child of God called WHO I AM IN CHRIST on the resource page. I encourage you to look at this handout as it reveals how God embraces you with His love and you become His child with a new identity. Accepting the truth of His love is the first step toward trust.

And you will know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free. John 8:32 (amp)

So what about you? What keeps you from trusting the truths of God?

In next week’s post we will move on to action 2 we can take in the humble wholehearted pursuit of God, the R in TRUST, Revealing your Hurts and Weaknesses.

It was my fortune to spend part of Mother’s Day with two wonderful young women (mamas) who had not given birth to a child but had mothered hundreds. They were extremely interested in the well being of children and had given untold number of words of encouragement and hours of sacrifice for the benefit of young souls.

For some, the reality for Mother’s Day, includes heartache and shame. The exclusion of women who; are single, married and infertile, unable to deliver a viable child (or whatever circumstances have prevented a woman from having a child, biological or adopted), extends the wound of the loss of childlessness.

Their pain is unknown and unseen by the rest of us who have children. Church families focus and elevate families with children. On Mother’s Day, mother’s who have children, are asked to stand to receive a flower in their honor, while the childless “mothers” sit with aching empty hands, covering their hearts of shame. Shame that tells them they are defective, not valued as the “real mothers”.

Families with children should be recognized as a valued treasure. So should the mamas without children of their own. They are actively loving children that are not technically their own. Their caring love is volunteered, purposed from a sincere heart. How priceless is this kind of love!

The definition of the action of a mother includes the verbs, nurturing and protecting. Does biology define a mother or the authentic action of nurturing love?

I remember a single, middle age, biology teacher that I had in the 11th grade. She nurtured and protected me from the various stresses that besieged a 17 year old girl. I LOVED biology and I was her after school lab assistant. She even let me drive her car! When I had a minor fender bender, she was tender and accepting of me in spite of my mistake. Her impact in my life was endearing, giving me a motherly comfort at a time when I was vulnerable. I considered her as one of the many women in my life that “mothered” me into adulthood.

Thank you for all the “mothers” I had who gave me encouragement and empowered me to live strong in my faith. All who give your love away, with nothing expected in return – You are Beautiful!

As women, we are offspring of Eve, the mother of all the living and the daughters of the living God. When we understand this truth we are able to give His love to all souls, young and old.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Helpful Links

Cathy T. Burns LPC-S

The purpose of this blog is to lead others to live with intention, focusing each day through the eyes of faith allowing a healing of heart, soul, mind and body through the presence of God... living #Hope(full)